Regret, Rebirth, and Reclaim
by pyrothemusical
Summary: Regret: He constantly felt regret as he continued to live on, aware of what he did and what his actions have done. Rebirth: A new life given to him, he questions if he truly deserves this rebirth and whether or not he should pay for his sins. Reclaim: Something very important was stolen from him, and he will do anything to reclaim what was once a part of him.
1. Prologue 1

**Can a single event change a character's personality? Their actions? Their identity?**

 **These questions continue to taunt me. For the past days, I was constantly thinking of "What if-" and "What would happen if-" situations about a couple of animes, shows, stories, and games I have watched and played.**

 **And suddenly, I came up with an idea for a crossover one day. And apparently decided to write a few pages about it.**

 **So, I present to you one of the prologues to my new story,** _ **Regret, Rebirth, and Reclaim**_ **. I might post the second one if I have time, or if there is reasonable support for the story.**

 **Regardless, I hope all of you will enjoy what is to be read. With that said, let us begin.**

 **And 3...2...1...begin.**

* * *

 **Prologue #1**

No matter where she looked, she saw the colour black.

The sky was pitch black, visibility at its lowest. The ground was covered with black fog, enveloping everything in its path. Shadows crept along the ground, despite the lack of sunlight. Buildings were abandoned, the inhabitants having fled the area when the darkness had first spread.

She grimaced. Running, hiding, it would do them no good. By the time they would come in contact with it, the madness would have already taken over their minds and bodies. They were lucky if they had an immediate death: survivors of madness were considered vessels of hell itself.

She pressed on, venturing deeper into the fog.

* * *

The second time she stopped was when she caught sight of her hometown.

It was completely destroyed. Obliterated, ruined, reduced to mere pieces of debris. Bodies of the town's citizens were scattered everywhere, covered in severe injuries that were presumed to be the cause of their death.

She hesitated to think these were self-inflicted injuries, and shuddered at the thought. Given what the madness could do, it was unlikely for it not to be the cause of their death. In their current situation, the possibility of resisting the madness was very low.

She tried not to look at the corpses, tried not to recognize anyone she knew. But every once in awhile, a body would be identified as one of her classmate's, either mangled in the debris or surrounded by their own pool of blood..

Biting her tongue to distract her from the sight of distraction and brutality, she steered her gaze forward and staggered towards her destination: her school.

* * *

If her hometown was the remains of a battlefield, her school was the remains of armageddon.

By now the fog had disappeared, allowing onlookers to take in the amount of destruction. Buildings were decimated, rubble was scattered everywhere, pieces of metal were sticking out of the ground; the scenery was similar to one of a wasteland. Nobody would be able to remain in this environment, let alone survive.

And yet, despite her head screaming at her to not do anything stupid, she knew that he would be here. She knew that her journey would eventually come to an end, and she accepted the truth.

Taking a deep breath, her pulse rapidly increasing, she ventured towards the center of the destruction, the place where he would be found.

* * *

True to her words, she found him in the middle of the wreckage staring at the moon, blank eyes matching his blank expression.

Well, she presumed it to be the moon since it appeared as a mere ball of black. After all, the moon had been the setting of their last battle, her friends helping her fight against-

She grimaced. Her now **dead** friends, she corrected herself. They had all perished during the battle, despite the confidence they had when they had set out to rescue him. And even when she promised them everything would return back the way they used to be, she failed them, only to helplessly watch every single one of them fall to their doom.

Shaking her head, she returned to the present, only now noticing him slowly approaching her, weapon out and held firmly in his grasp.

Despite her condition worsening, she smiled when she saw him. A happy smile for knowing he was safe, and a sad smile for knowing it was almost time for her journey to end.

When he was in arm's length, she made her move.

Pushing herself forwards, she mustered all her strength to run at him. His reaction was expected; he directed his weapon towards her, cautious of what she would do next.

The look of surprise appeared when she pushed his weapon straight through her chest, stabbing her directly in the heart. Blood spouting out of her wound, she weakly continued her way towards him before finally pulling him into a hug.

The look of realization came next when he realized what he had done. The look of horror quickly followed after.

Her strength quickly leaving her, she managed to get a brief look at him. Face dripping with tears, eyes widening in horror, the boy yelled her name out of desperation, pleading for her forgiveness for what he had done.

Idiot. Even after all of this, he still blamed himself for everything that happened. This was one of his weaknesses, and this was the reason why she loved him.

Placing a hand on his now wet cheek, she barely managed to croak out a few simple words. Yet despite how quiet her voice was, he heard her message and shakingly nodded his head, his body still shaking from his crying.

Her journey was now finished. It was time to go.

Her eyes slowly closing shut, she took one final breath before Death would claim her life. Before she would join her friends and family, one single thought remained in her head.

 _Forgive me..._


	2. Prologue 2

**Huh. Second update in the same week. This is pretty rare, since I usually update my stories once per month.**

…

 **Sigh, alright. I'll stop it with the sarcastic tone already.**

 **So, apparently a bunch of you like the stuff I'm writing so far. That pleases me. Very much. So much that I was able to write the second prologue in a matter of two days.**

 **...Yay.**

 **Well, nothing much to say so far, so we should probably begin this, right?**

 **Oh yeah. To the reviewer who asked...** _ **that question**_ **.**

 **...You'll see in due time. =)**

 **Well, shall we begin?**

 **And 3….2...1...let's go.**

* * *

 **Prologue #2**

"...Can you hear me?"

Huh? Who is this? I can't tell who it is...

"Oh, good. I'm finally able to reach out to you. I thought I lost you back then."

Back then? Did something happen? I can't remember what happened in the past…

"You...don't remember what happened? What you did in your world?"

In...my world?

"If that's the case...I'm going to refresh your memory then. This...will be painful."

No...No...No...I don't want this...I don't want this...I DON'T WANT THIS!

"...I'm sorry."

…

…

…

 **GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**

 **STOP! STOP! PLEASE STOP!**

 _ **Pain coursing through his body, he staggered across the battlefield. The ground turned into the remains of an earthquake. Bodies were strewn everywhere, smoke rose from the ground, and blood - oh god, so much blood, blood, blood, blood, blood, blood, blood, blood, blood, blood -**_

 **IT HURTS! IT HURTS! MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!**

 _ **\- A twisted grin on his face, he twirled the girls bloody hair with his finger. He always did like to play with other people's hair, his most favourite part being the use of his weapon as a fork to twirl the hair up like a big ball of spaghetti. But not scary people's hair. They looked like monsters and clowns and bad people and -**_

 **I'M NOT LIKE THIS! I'M NOT LIKE THIS! THIS ISN'T ME! THIS ISN'T ME!**

 _ **\- His friends were dead, their bodies scattered everywhere around him. Lifeless eyes stared back at him, their limbs broken and twisted like fragile twigs. Their faces were covered in heaps of blood. Blood that belonged to him. Blood that was used against him. Blood that was used to cut them, slice them, skewer them, stab them, strangle them, pierce them, massacre them -**_

 **I DIDN'T MEAN TO HURT THEM! I DIDN'T WANT TO! I SWEAR!**

 _ **\- Screams echoed around him, insane laughter filled the sky, and chaos raged all around him. This was insanity. This was why he was born, why he was raised, why he was taught to kill, slaughter, decimate, execute, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KiLl, KiLl, KiLl, KiLl, KiLl, KiLl, KiLl, KiLl, KiLl, KiLl, KiLl, kIlL, kIlL, kIlL, kIlL, kIlL, kIlL, kIlL -**_

 **no...no...no...NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!**

…

 **I didn't want to see any of that...I didn't want to see any of that...I didn't want to see any of that...I DIDN'T WANT TO SEE ANY OF THAT!**

...

 **P-P-PLEASE S-STOP...J-JUST K-K-KILL M-ME NOW...JUST KILL ME! I DON'T WANT TO LIVE ANYMORE! I DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE! I JUST WANT IT TO END!**

…

"...I can't do that."

...H-Huh? Wh-why?

...

…

"...Everything will be revealed in the future. But...not right now. Right now...you should be prepared for the jump..."

J-Jump? Wh-why would I-I need to jump?

"...Goodbye, my dear guest. I wish you the best of luck on your journey...and hope you will forgive me for what I have done..."

W-wait! I-I have so many questions, a-and I need to know what happened, and -

"...I'm sorry."

…

…

…

"You did not deserve this fate...Crona Makenshi."


	3. A New Beginning

**So...Apparently, a lot of you guys like this story...a lot.**

 **...Can't say I was expecting that at all. Especially since my English is...uh...mediocre at best?**

 **With that out of the way, I would like to address one issue I've been having while writing this chapter.**

 **That issue...is Crona's persona.**

 **Now, we all know that Crona is a shy, innocent, somewhat gullible, person who has been abused since he was a child. Because of this, he has his moments where he'll go into states of madness, act depressed, and even freak out at certain times.**

 **Here's my question: should his persona be altered a bit?**

 **As you progress through this chapter, please keep this question in mind. I am at a standby where I am not sure if I should change Crona's persona or not.**

 **Thus, I would like to request the help of you, the reader, and ask for your opinion on the matter. You can do this by clicking the review button and leave your opinion behind.**

 **But enough of that. I believe we should get this chapter started, right?**

 **With that said, I present you the first ever chapter of this story and hope you will all enjoy it.**

 **And 3...2...1...go.**

* * *

 **A New Beginning**

An endless void.

It was there where he found himself, floating in the darkness. Everything was covered in this darkness, yet there was enough visibility for him to see himself.

He looked down, taking a quick look at himself.

He wore a long, black robe with white cuffs, the sleeves too big for his arms. Steel and cloth plates covered his waist and shoulders, the feeling of sudden weight being added to these regions of his body. For his footwear, he wore black slipper-like shoes, white cuffs also appearing at the top of the shoes.

It seemed as though he liked the colour black. He noticed the fact when he took a quick glance at his attire.

Now, what was he to do about his current situation?

He took a glance around him, then noticed a strange white light approaching him. Not a humongous light that would have illuminated the entire area, but a miniscule light the shape of a ball, hovering slowly towards him.

...

For some reason, he was transfixed by this light. It was as if it was calling out to him, asking him to come closer.

…

There was no harm in reaching out for it, right?

Abandoning his sense of caution, he slowly approached the small light, cupping it with both of his hands when he finally reached it. It flickered a bit, then suddenly went out.

The next thing he knew, he felt the urge to sleep. Before he knew it, he closed his eyes, and darkness took him once again.

* * *

He found himself lying on the ground, his body flat against the soft grass. He was looking at the sky, clouds covering the bright sun.

Eyes blinking rapidly, he slowly sat up, turning his head and taking in his current surroundings. What he saw baffled him.

The last time he was aware of his surroundings, everything was covered in darkness.

Now, everything around him was a contrast to his past surroundings in every possible way.

Instead of an endless void, grass and dirt covered the ground, the smell of nature reaching his nose.

Instead of darkness swallowing everything it is path, sunlight peered through the trees, illuminating everything and bringing visibility to its highest.

Instead of the silence he was accustomed to hear, in its place was the occasional sound of birds chirping and the gentle wind blowing through the leaves.

It was...calming, to say the least. Even peaceful.

So why was he unsettled by this scenery? There was no danger around him, nothing to be cautious of or feel unease towards. Logically speaking, one should feel at peace when experiencing an environment such as the one being presented to him.

Why could he not remain calm and collected?

Perhaps it was due to the enormous contrast between the past and present surroundings. Perhaps it was due to how peaceful the scenery was, abit too peaceful for his preference. Or perhaps it was because his friends weren't with him and-

He froze at the word "friends".

Friends?

Who were his friends?

Where were they right now?

How come they weren't with him?

Why couldn't he remember who they were?

These questions swarmed his mind as he clutched his head with both hands, an attempt to recover his memories. Unfortunately, he had no such luck, and only managed to gain a migraine from all the hard thinking.

 _Why?_ He thought as he sat back down, curling into a ball with his arms hugging his legs tightly. _Why can't I remember who my friends are? Did I lose my memories? But that doesn't make sense, since I remember everything else clearly and-_

Time froze as he recalled what he had just thought of, and he realized in horror when he finally remembered.

Just like a flood breaking through a dam, his past actions and events swarmed his mind at an inhuman pace. Various images flashed before his eyes, the majority of them showcasing people, people he recognized and treasured, being slaughtered by **him**. The sounds of people screaming in pain echoed around him, pain that was undeniably caused by **him**. The smell of blood came into play, blood that **he** had used to inflict pain upon others.

Expression masking his horror, he brought his hands forwards, staring at them in shock. They were clean, spotless.

They might as well have been coated with blood, the colour red staining his usual pale skin.

His breathing and heart rate significantly increased. He began to hyperventilate, a lum gradually rising from his chest to his head. The pupils in his eyes darted everywhere, as if searching for an answer to the many questions he had. He brought his hands to his head, nails digging into his hair.

And for the first, and certainly not the last, time in many years, Crona screamed.

* * *

After what seemed to be an eternity of screaming, Crona had finally managed to calm down.

True, his whole body was still shaking and the occasional tears would appear in his eyes, but at least he had stopped screaming.

Now, if only he could stop the twitching in his left eye…

But that could be taken care of later. For now, there were more important matters to take care of.

For instance, finding out exactly where he was.

He glanced around him.

Trees all around him, their branches stretched in various directions. Bushes and other plants rooted to the ground, the variety of colours bringing life to the ground. The natural scenery of a forest.

 _It looks like I'm in some kind of forest…_ Crona thought as he got to his feet, taking a couple of steps forwards. _Looks like a normal forest, with all the trees and plants...A bit strange that there aren't animals, though..._ He took a glance around him and sighed, eyes downcast. _But...there's nothing here that I recognize…_

To be fair, he very rarely went outside by himself, much less had been given permission to. Unless Lady Medusa assigned him a mission, he would remain by her side, waiting for her to give him an order. Even when he did go outside, Lady Medusa made sure to keep an eye on him during his missions in order to make sure he was not distracted from his main objective. Thus, his experience with the outside world was at a bare minimum, to say the least.

Nevertheless, there was still some hope in finding out where he was. If he came upon a town or a city, he could look for a library in search of information regarding where he currently was. If that didn't work, there was always the option of asking a passerbyer about this place, albeit his reluctance of asking a stranger for help went straight through the roof.

He never was great at asking for help from complete strangers. Actually, he never was great at asking for help from people in general. Especially when he was caught in a sticky situation.

At the thought of this, Crona's expression slowly morphed into one of shame and self-loathing. Brave? Confident? Strong? He was nothing like that, let alone believed he could become something like that. He was weak. Scared. In search of power in order to hide his fear from others and replace it with strength.

After all, that was what he learned the moment he was brought under Lady Medusa's care. And Lady Medusa's lessons were absolute.

 _Some things never change, I guess._ Crona bitterly thought as he continued to walk onwards, venturing deeper into the forest. At this point, he was hardly paying attention to what was in front of him. _No matter what happens, I'm just scared in the end. No matter what happens, I'm weak, and I can't do anything about it._ He laughed bitterly, almost tempted to mock himself. He was pathetic, probably as low as trash. _In the end, Ragnarok was right about me. I'm just another-_

His walking came to an abrupt halt, his legs rigid and stiff. Crona's mind froze when he recalled the name he had just thought of, then scowled himself for not checking on him immediately the moment he came to.

Ragnarok.

His weapon.

His companion.

His partner.

How did he miss the usual teasing and bullying? How did he not notice how strange the quiet atmosphere was, when in reality it should have been interrupted by his loud bantering and obnoxious complaining? How did he not realize that he would have already made an appearance by now, his usual entrance of splotting out of his back and resting on his head?

Crona lowered his gaze to the ground, ashamed that he had never considered to check in on Ragnarok. Some meister he was, never having considered the welfare of the companion who had remained by his side for his entire life. And here he was, only concerned about his own well being and had completely forgot to check in on his partner.

 _R-Ragnarok?_ Crona thought in his mind, trying to search for his presence and reach out to the weapon. _P-Please answer me. I-I'm sorry for not checking on you sooner._ When he received no answer, his concern increased. Surely he would have answered back by now instead of giving him the silent treatment, right? _R-Ragnork, p-please answer back. I-I'll make it up to you, I swear. So please-_

His eyes widened in horror when he found the reason behind Ragnarok's silence.

It wasn't because the weapon was frustrated with him and decided to give him the silent treatment as a punishment. Nor was it because he had been critically injured and was currently resting.

Ragnarok's soul was gone.

He was missing.

* * *

How he had remained calm after acknowledging Ragnarok's absence, he did not understand why he wasn't panicking right now, which in this case, should have been the logical emotion he should have felt. After all, was he not concerned about this? Worried about where Ragnarok could have possibly went?

But no, confusion instead replaced panic and concern when Crona pondered on the one question in his mind.

How was this even possible?

When Lady Medusa first injected him with the black blood, Ragnarok, in his weapon form, had been melted down and infused into his bloodstream, acting as his weapon and armour. They shared a symbiotic relationship because of this: Crona gave Ragnarok a body to inhabit, and Ragnarok in return would protect him from damage and heal his injuries, though he would always ask for payment of some kind in return for his actions. To physically remove them apart would be the same as suggesting one should try to physically remove the roots of a tree without damaging the planet: it was impossible for it to happen.

Yet somehow, in some way, Ragnarok had disappeared in his mind. The weapon's disappearance defied every logical reasoning Crona could give, but it happened, and this was the reality of the situation.

Crona suddenly did not like reality. In fact, he now disliked it with a burning passion.

However, as soon as Ragnarok's case had been dealt with, although he would still need to look into it if he wanted to find his whereabouts, another question popped up in Crona's mind. A question he had been hesitant to ask, but he knew it must be dealt with as soon as possible.

What happened to the black blood?

There were 2 weapons Crona always brought with him wherever he went. The first weapon was Ragnarok, granting him the ability to wield a physical weapon, his sword, in combat and pull of various resonances with the weapon.

Then there was the second weapon Lady Medusa had given him: the black blood.

Offence, defence, range, speed, support, recovery: the black blood was capable of all these things. It served as his weapon, his armour, his saving grace in battle. It served as the weapon that helped him achieve his numerous victories in battle, the advantage he had against his enemies in combat, the tool he used to help him slaughter others and choke the life right out of their bodies.

He shuddered at the thought and grimaced. The black blood was a dangerous weapon to use, affecting both the user and the opponent fighting the black blood in various ways.

It became a lethal threat when it reached its next stage: mad blood.

Though it was not technically considered an upgrade to the black blood, it may as well have been identified as one. Only capable of being used after performing Madness Fusion with Ragnarok and the Black Clown, a being of black blood created by Lady Medusa herself, the attack granted Crona the ability to engulf his opponents in a large tidal wave of black blood and trap them in the darkness permanently. The size of the black blood's spread would vary, ranging from the size of a person to the size of an entire city. Once the attack had successfully trapped its prey, the black blood would then harden, increasing its durability by an absurd amount and making it impossible for those encased in the black blood to escape.

And then there was the matter regarding the victims trapped inside the black blood.

Insanity, chaos, madness: they were all inserted into the victim's mind as they struggled to escape the black blood cage, affecting the victim both physically and mentally. Overtime, they would succumb to the black blood and be consumed by madness. If that were to happen, then the victim's body would melt into black blood, due to having the fluid enter their bloodstream the moment they came in contact wit the mad blood attack, and be absorbed by the remaining black blood around the victim.

Needless to say, it was an attack one would not wish to encounter, let alone fight against.

Deep in thought, Crona stared at the centre of his palm where he usually drew the black blood from. Logically speaking. If Ragnarok had disappeared from his body, the black blood couldn't have possibly remain intact in his bloodstream.

But as he continued to think about it, Crona realized he could not rely on reality to support his logic.

So far, everything that revolved around him defied the reality he was accustomed to. Landing in a strange place, having no memories of his friends, suddenly remembering everything in a blink of an eye, and acknowledging Ragnarok's sudden disappearance: all of these contradicted everything he thought he knew.

So, even though Ragnarok disappeared, could there be a possibility that the black blood remained inside of him?

Deep breaths came from Crona. The pressure of whether or not he was right or wrong falling heavily on him. He took a deep breath, and hardened his resolve.

There was only one way to find the answer to his many questions.

He stood up slowly, bringing himself off the ground. He staggered forwards where a row of trees awaited him. He looked at each one, trying to find the sharpest of the bunch.

Awhile later, he found what he was looking for: a stick.

A stick he would use to test his hypothesis. Albeit, it was not as sharp as he hoped it to be, but it would have to do for now.

Rolling up the sleeve of his robe, Crona placed his hand on the ground, palm facing upwards. He positioned the stick on top of his hand and took a deep breath.

"This...isn't going to hurt right?"

There was only one way to find out.

He struck with all his strength.

…

…

…

He noticed something was wrong when he felt pain. Actual pain coming from his hand.

Clenching his teeth shut, Crona restrained the urge to yell out in pain as he drew back, the stick flung into a nearby bush. Pain coursed from the center of his hand to his body, the feeling soon enveloping his mind.

It was a strange feeling. Pain, that is. A feeling he never thought, even believed to be capable of feeling. Thanks to the black blood's protection and recovery properties, it was very rare for him to experience, let alone feel, pain from his opponents' attacks in battle. Yet here he was, experiencing the one thing he thought he was incapable of feeling, all because of a little stick.

Returning back to reality, Crona tried to block out the pain with his mind and focused his attention on his hand.

What he saw confirmed his suspicions, and evidently, startled him.

What poured out of his wound was not the red fluid that usually flowed in a human's body, but a different substance.

The black blood.

* * *

 _This...is strange._

Crona continued walking forwards, his mind not entirely focused on his surroundings. As a result, there would be a frequent repetition where he would bump into something, shake his head a few times, and continued forwards.

 _The black blood's here, but Ragnarok isn't. Actually..._ He frowned, a sudden thought popping up in his mind. _I don't sense the Black Clown's presence either, meaning he's probably not here either…_

Though it wasn't a major detail to point out, it was a dismal thought that Crona had one less companion with him, albeit the Black Clown rarely did make an appearance, only called when Lady Medusa required a helping hand in her plans.

Still, it would have been nice to have at least someone with him. But, just as he had mentioned before, reality did not seem to like him.

He shared the same feeling with reality, only right back at it.

 _So...where does this leave me?_ By now, he had walked into a clearing in the forest, only to be simply staring at the sky, lost in thought.

What he had gained from his little experiment had been very little, yet very helpful at the same time.

Like he mentioned beforehand, the black blood still remained in his bloodstream. However, one noticeable difference he observed was the change in the black blood's protection. Rather, the change in the black blood's durability.

In the past, Crona recalled having the ability to harden his blood in order to prevent physical damage from harming his body. In this case however, there had been a noticeable decrease in how much the black blood could protect him from physical damage. At least, that was what he picked up from when he stabbed himself with the stick.

Another thing Crona noticed was the change in the black blood's recovery speed. A contrast to the brief amount of time the black blood required for healing his injuries, the black blood had slowed down to a significant pace, almost taking twice the amount of time needed to fix his injuries. He saw this when he realized it took quite awhile for his wound to completely heal.

Now that he thought about it, the possibility that Ragnarok and the Black Clown's disappearance had affected the black blood's defensive properties seemed very likely now. Originally, they supported his control over the black blood and allowed him to harden his blood, protecting himself from harm. For them to suddenly separate from Crona possibly meant he had lost control over the black blood.

Crona sighed. All of this thinking made his head hurt. So much that it had given him a headache.

 _Maybe I should stop thinking for a bit._ He groaned as he shook his head, trying to get the nauseous feeling out of his mind. _I should really be paying attention to my surroundings instead. Hopefuly, I'll be able to leave this forest and see where I am right-_

A sudden noise made Crona freeze in his tracks. Noise that immediately put him on guard.

At first, it had been faint. Barely audible. He thought he had been imagining things.

Now, it seemed as though his suspicions were correct.

Growling. It could be heard amongst the bushes in front of him.

Normally, Crona would have assumed it to be an animal trying to defend its territory. He had met plenty of those during his missions.

Naturally, the majority of them soon did not have a territory to defend anymore, but that was not the point.

The growling he had previously heard wasn't one that came from a defensive animal. Nor an animal trying to intimidate him from entering their territory.

The growling came from an animal that couldn't wait to sink their teeth into something soft and juicy. Presumably, flesh.

 _...This...can't be good…_ Crona slowly backed away from the source of the noise, carefully watching the bush for any sudden movement. _I'm defenceless, have no weapon on me, and to top it off, have no idea what kind of enemy I might be facing...This...is not going to end well..._

Crona shuddered and took a deep breath. _Alright...Now's not the time to panic...hopefully..._ A rustling in the bush caught his attention, and red eyes now appeared, peering out of the bush. _...I don't think that creature's a peaceful creature._ The growling increased in volume as the red eyes grew larger in size. _Definitely...not a peaceful creature. Hopefully, I'm fast enough to run away from it before it can catch up to me and-_

Multiple growls could be heard, making Crona return back to reality. Now, four pairs of red eyes could be seen, all glaring at him.

 _...Oh dear._

It didn't seem as though running away was an option now.

* * *

When the creatures finally emerged from the bush, Crona could not help but stare at them with wide eyes.

There were four of them. They looked like black werewolves, albeit a bit more muscular and shorter than the standard lycanthropes, the species the werewolves had originated form.

But there was so much that made these creatures different from the ones he was used in seeing.

For starters, he couldn't help but notice that the wolves were covered in bone spikes protruding from their back, arms, and legs, the shape of the bones curved into the shape of a crescent. It almost seemed as though the bones served as some kind of armor for the wolves.

He also noticed how sharp their claws and teeth were, a lot sharper than the wolves he saw during his past missions.

However, what stood out the most were the bone-like masks on their faces, complete with red markings that illuminated their eyes and gave them a frightening appearance.

Was there some kind of significance to these masks, some reason as to why they were wearing them?

Crona didn't have time to think about it when the first wolf lunged at him, claws pointed out to grasp ahold of his body.

Thinking quickly, Crona rolled out of the way of the wolf's attack, only to be met by a second wolf circling around him. Unlike the first one, this one seemed more cautious, careful not to recklessly charge at the enemy. It was why the wolf waited for a few seconds before running straight at Crona, mouth wide open in an attempt to bite him.

Not wanting to be someone's lunch, Crona had seconds to spare before jumping out of the wolf's way. In doing so, he barely had any time to notice the remaining two wolves, who had been absent since the battle had started, jumping in the air, an attempt to knock him into the ground and finish him off from there.

Unfortunately for them, Crona had other plans than becoming minced meat for them to feast on. He stood his ground, keeping an open eye on the other wolves while paying close attention to the wolves in the air.

Believing that they had already won and their opponent had given up, the wolves allowed their arrogance to get the best of them and recklessly rushed towards Crona, eager to finish him off.

They were fools in believing so.

Right before their claws reached Crona's face, he twisted his body at the last second, allowing him to dive underneath their lunge. In addition, he mustered the strength in his right arm, the arm he used to wield Ragnarok, and swung it against the stomach of the wolf on the right.

The aftermath was instantaneous. Both wolves went sailing in the air, the one on the right having crashed into the one on the left, and collapsed on the ground in a pile of fur and dirt. Stunned by the hit and the sudden impact of their heads banging against the ground, it would take both wolves a good couple of minutes to recover.

Though Crona did not have much physical strength when compared to many of the enemies he faced in battle, the wolves included, it did not mean he did not know basic physical combat, regardless if he had Ragnarok with him or not. It was rare for him to not have the weapon with him, but he would always resort to it in these rare circumstances.

However, that did not mean he would win the battle, especially if he had to face multiple enemies. As the fight progressed, Crona noticed that the wolves decided to change their tactics. Instead of simply charging at him and going in for the kill, they resorted to circling around him, occasionally making him dodging one of their attacks, be it a swipe with their claws or a bite with their teeth, and returning to the others who continued to run around him.

He realized, as he dodged yet another attack from a wolf, that they were not trying to kill him, but to tire him out. This way, once he had reached his breaking point and ran out of stamina, they would be able to finish him off with relative ease.

The battle should have gone his way when Crona realized their strategy. Unfortunately, said strategy was working against him as the battle went on.

As he mentioned beforehand, Crona had no weapon he could rely on defending himself, meaning unless he wanted to risk his own well being, he could not simply rush towards the wolves to stop them from circling him. He also could not rely on his physical combat skills; they were too weak and he could not risk the possibility of being overwhelmed by the wolves.

To top it all off, he was running out of stamina with every second the battle dragged on, leaving him with heavy breathing and the occasional gasps for air. The wolves were also being more successful with their attacks, their frequent swipes and lunges grazing Crona and leaving him with gashes and deep wounds for the black blood to heal.

Needless to say, Crona was working overtime in trying to stay alive.

Perhaps he could use the black blood to fend off the wolves. It was the logical solution: use the weapon that was given him when he was a child to finish his enemies off.

But so far, he had been unsuccessful in shaping and altering the black blood, let alone hardening it for protection. No matter how many times he tried, the black blood wouldn't respond to his will, merely healing his injuries at a slow pace.

Maybe the absence of the Ragnarok, and even the Black Clown to some extent, had affected the black blood to the point of only acting as a healing factor for his body. If that were the case, then he would need to carefully plan his next moves if he didn't want to-

Crona froze, his thoughts coming to a halt. Why did the wolves suddenly decide to freeze, as if they were waiting for someone?

…

He cautiously took a step forwards.

…

...

...

It happened in a blink of an eye.

Out of nowhere, a fifth figure lept from the bushes behind him at an inhuman pace, their gaze set on Crona's left arm. It was most likely that the wolf had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Catching him off guard, Crona could only watch as the figure suddenly appeared by his side, mouth wide open.

Wide eyed, he watched as the figure, whom he now identified as a fifth wolf, sank its teeth into his arm without hesitation. Black blood spilled everywhere, droplets of blood flying in the air and streams of blood pouring down his arm and into the wolf's mouth.

…

If the pain was supposed to register by now, then the wolf must have dealt massive damage towards his body because he felt numb all over.

Crona simply stared at his arm, still wide eyed over what had just transpired. Frustrated that its attack did nothing to Crona, let alone faze him, the wolf uttered a menacing growl before using its strength to lift Crona up by the arm and sent him flying into a tree, a sickening crash emitted from the moment his body crashed into the trunk of the tree.

Barely conscious, Crona struggled to stand as he watched with one open eye, the other having been injured when the wolf had thrown him into the tree, all five wolves advancing towards him, their mouths stretched into a grin as they knew victory was in their grasp.

The sad part? They were probably right.

In his position, Crona barely had energy left to fight, let alone stand. His right eye had been injured, limiting his visibility in battle. His left arm could not be used, having been chewed on by the wolf and left to bleed out. The wounds from the wolves' previous attacks started to burn, resulting in the urge to scream. He could not think properly, meaning the next move he would make might as well be the last one.

No matter how he looked at it, he was doomed.

 _...Is this how I'm going to die?_ Crona could not help but chuckle bitterly, earning slight looks of confusion from the wolves. _...I should be scared right now...Shaking, crying, pleading for my life...But I'm not. Why?_

The same question was asked by the wolves. Normally, the majority of humans would release negative emotions when they were on the brink of death. They knew this because they felt this.

However, this human did not release any negative emotion. Instead, the human chose to regard the situation as a joke? The human even laughed at this!

Annoyance started to fill the wolve's minds. They had the upper hand here, and yet this human still had the gall to laugh?! So be it!

All five wolves looked at each other and nodded. Together, they lunged at the human, jaws wide open with the intention to devour the strange human.

 _...For some reason, I feel...disappointed..._ At this point, Crona raised his gaze, watching as all five wolves approached him. To him, time seemed to slow down. He did not mind. He could use these moments to reflect upon this thoughts.

 _...In the end, I still can't save anyone…_

 _...In the end, I always fail..._

 _...In the end, I'm still weak…_

 _...It looks like this is the end…_

With that as the final thought, Crona slowly closed his eyes, awaiting his inevitable death to come and claim his soul.

* * *

…

…

…

 _You still have a promise to keep, don't you?_

A...promise?

 _Yes, a promise. You promised_ _ **her**_ _that you would continue to survive, no matter what would happen._

Did I? I...don't remember.

 _I will not blame you for your memory loss. But know that_ _ **she**_ _sacrificed everything in order for you to live. How do you think she would have felt if she saw you now, knowing that everything she did was for naught?_

I...don't know…

 _Guess._

Angry?

 _Pass._

Disappointed?

 _Pass._

...Sad?

 _...Yes._

But, why? I don't remember this person, but she would be sad if I died?

 _Humans work in strange ways, my dear guest. They will do anything to protect the ones they love. That is why_ _ **she**_ _did everything to save you. To release you of your burden. Your madness._

...She did?

 _Yes? Now, how can we make her happy?_

...I need to live?

 _...I can't seem to hear you._

I need to live.

 _I still can't hear you._

I NEED TO LIVE!

 _Louder, my dear guest._

 **I NEED TO LIVE!**

 _...Good, my dear guest. Then, how shall you prove this?_

...I need to survive.

 _But there are enemies in front of you? You are wounded, on the brink of death. How will you survive?_

...Kill.

 _Louder, my dear guest._

Kill!

 _Louder._

 **KILL! KILL! I'LL KILL THEM ALL!**

 _That's...going a bit extreme...But...I guess that will do. Do you know what you need to do now, my dear guest?_

...Yes.

 _Then show these creatures the will to live. Show them the will to survive. Show them...the will of Crona Makenshi!_

* * *

An explosion was heard, and a fume of dust escaped from the forest.

Stunned, all five wolves were sprawled across the ground in various positions. They slowly got up, still dazed by the explosion, but somehow managed to recover.

They looked around them, trying to identify the source of the explosion. After all, the human had been subdued, defeated. There must have been a second party responsible for this.

And yet, there wasn't.

A figure rose from the dust and slowly walked out. The wolves immediately were on guard when they saw who it was.

"Haaa...It feels good to be awake again. It's like...waking up from a bad nightmare, you know?"

The wolves looked at each other, confused? This human was responsible for the explosion? Wasn't he on the brink of death a few seconds ago?

"Oh! New toys to play with! This is going to be so much fun!"

...Why was the human smiling?

"Let's play, okay? It'll be so much fun…"

...Why did the human just stab himself?

"Oh! But I should warn you about something!"

...Why did the human suddenly emit the feeling of fear from their body?

" **...My BlOoD iS bLaCk, YoU kNoW?** "

Hardening his blood into the shape of a crescent, Crona's grin stretched as wide as possible. As he approached the wolves, each step echoing in the eerie silence, he knew one thing.

This would not be a battle.

This would be a massacre.


	4. Regret and Anger

_**Finally done Chapter 2! Ah, it's so good to finally finish this chapter! Wonder how long it's been since I last updated the story…**_

 ***Checks date: April 17th, 2016.***

 ***Last updated: March 14th, 2016.***

 _ **...Sigh…**_

 _ **So, yeah...This took forever to write...I...had a lot on my hands, so this took longer than expected. (Plus, I had to edit some parts of the chapter about like, around 3 times.)**_

 _ **Anyways, I want to thank all of you for the helpful advice on Crona's characterization: it will definitely help me in the future when I'm struggling to write his character.**_

 _ **However, just like before, I do have another question to ask you, my fellow reader.**_

 _ **How far should Crona's insanity reach?**_

 _ **Through the manga and anime, I believe we all know how much madness Crona exhibits, exposing it while he is fighting his opponents in battle. But in the end, Crona manages to overcome the madness during the very end of the manga, displaying his true self in his last moments.**_

 _ **That being said, I'm wondering whether I should put a limit as to how insane he may become. If I were to make him turn towards madness in every possible scenario, then it will no longer be a surprise to those around him and to those who are fighting him. He might even become a very bland character to work with, only expected to turn mad whenever an important event occurs.**_

 _ **But enough rambling. Just like last time, if you think you have an answer to my question, just drop a review down and note down what your opinion is.**_

 _ **With that said, I think we should move onto the actual chapter, no?**_

 _ **And 3...2...1...go.**_

* * *

 **Regret and Anger**

Three figures stood on the edge of a cliffside, peering down upon the forest below them.

"...An interesting turn of events, to say the least..." One of them commented, bobbing their head up and down. "To say we were expecting this...No, we should have expected this from our dear guest. He is...quite an interesting person."

"But did ya really have to press him that much?" The one on its left asked, head turned towards its companion. "I mean, sure he was on the verge of death and all, but don't you think you kinda pushed him a bit- no, not a bit, a lot? You really didn't have to pull his trigger that much."

It paused, awaiting its comrade to respond back. "I...understood the risks." The first one finally said, voice filled with uncertainty. "The drawbacks, the liabilities, everything. I accounted every little consequence that could have possibly existed. And understood what was in stake in exchange of these consequences." It sighed, for it knew it would face disappointment from its comrades. It itself would have been disappointed if one of its comrades acted this rashly. "And yet, I did it, zero regards towards the concern I had for what could be in store."

There was a stunned silence amongst the three of them, a silence it had been expecting with no surprise at all. Mockery and disapproval were sure to follow next, for it knew these were what its comrades liked to do.

So it came to a surprise when the third figure began to speak. "Surprised...no. Will...weak? Perhaps." The gruff voice growled, emphasis placed on each word.

The first one stared at the third one before chuckling dryly. A weak will, eh? An interesting point to bring up. "Perhaps...Perhaps I have become weak. These past years, my contact with the human beings have left me quite...strange." It closed its eyes, recalling the first encounter with their dear guest. "After all, I was the one who decided to-"

A clap on the shoulder interrupted its monologue, and the second one spoke up. "Now, hold on a minute. We were all responsible for what transpired in the past, because we believed our dear guest deserved a second chance. You don't have to take all this blame for yourself: we all deserve to be called weak-willed."

"Weak will...not bad. Possibly...good?" The third one suggested in an attempt to lighten the mood of the conversation.

"...Perhaps. No doubt our interactions with humans have indeed changed us..." The first one muttered as it brushed its comrade's hand off its shoulder. "But enough chattering. There is work that is needed to be done right now."

"Work? But we just got here!" The second one complained, arms crossed in a pouty manner. Still, it got up and stood by the first one's side. "I hate working."

The third one shrugged and staggered forwards, eventually standing on the right. "Don't care...Do...what is needed...for dear guest."

The first one nodded. It seemed as though they were all in agreement here. "Indeed. Shall we?"

A gust of wind blew, and all three figures disappeared.

* * *

It was supposed to be a time-consuming mission.

Travel to the specified location, recon the area, take out several grimm along the way: it should have taken at least the entire afternoon.

Of course, her confidence may have gotten the best of her, making her believe this mission would be a piece of cake. It wasn't the first time a similar scenario had happened before, and she made sure to that she learned from her mistakes.

After all, she was the team leader, right? And it was her responsibility to lead the others on her team, no matter what the scenario may be.

Still, why did she have a feeling that things were a bit too easy this time? That something was wrong, despite the calm and peaceful atmosphere residing around them?

"Something wrong, sis?"

Hearing her sister calling out to her, Ruby Rose turned towards her and shook her head. "Nothing really, Yang. Just...thinking about things, that's all."

The four of them, herself, Weiss, Blake, and Yang, had been walking for a good fifteen minutes so far, in search for any lingering grimm that needed to be taken care of. It had been assigned to them as a mission, so it was here in the forest where they found themselves, keeping a careful eye of their surroundings as the group traveled in a tight pack through the luscious forest.

However, so far they had encountered zero grimm, leaving them with an unusual peaceful forest to travel through. A peaceful forest that should have had its peace and quiet disrupted by grimm activity.

Needles to say, it was quite strange, even unsettling to experience this sensation.

Ruby sighed. Maybe she was worrying a bit too much about the matter at hand. It could have been her self-conscious playing tricks with her mind again: it wasn't the first time her mind had done something like that to her.

But…

Ruby took a quick glance at her teammates.

To her right, her partner Weiss was busy scowling her sister, the usual stern look on her face. Wearing her usual snow white combat attire, combat skirt included, she also had a small bag strapped to her back. In the bag were small provisions, a few medical supplies, and an extra scroll that was meant to be used to contact Beacon Academy in case of an emergency.

Why Weiss had willingly volunteered to carry all of this stuff, Ruby would never know.

She also didn't understand why the girl had looked so flustered when she asked her question.

Well, whatever. As long as Weiss was happy with it, that was all that mattered. At least she didn't have to carry it herself: the bag looked really heavy despite its small stature.

To her left, Yang had the usual look of mischief as she continued to tease Weiss, the two of them conversing rapidly in an attempt to win the argument. Free-spirited, athletic, enthusiastic: all of these characterized her sister, the brawler of team RWBY. She was a very powerful fighter, especially when she was angry.

Ruby made sure to never anger her sister, intentionally or unintentionally. The last time her sister was angry…

Well…

It would be better if **that** event was never mentioned again. It still scared her to this day.

And finally, behind her was the last team member of team RWBY and one of her best friends: Blake. Wearing the usual black bow to hide her fauns traits along with her black and white attire, Blake trailed behind the group with a book in her hand, eyes buried deep into the novel. Her quiet demeanor contrasted the loud ranting between Weiss and Yang, and it had been a relief for Ruby when she realized she had someone to rely on in case things became a bit out of hand and-

"Ruby. You're staring again."

Snapping out of her thoughts, Ruby flushed in embarrassment when she finally noticed that Blake, along with Weiss and Yang who had finally stopped arguing, were all staring at her, their expressions mixed with confusion and concern.

"S-Sorry guys. I've just been spacing out lately." Ruby replied hastily in an attempt to hide the embarrassing act. Unfortunately, it did not seem to convince the rest of her team, especially since Weiss sighed out of exasperation, a sure sign that she was about to chew Ruby out.

"Alright, dolt. What's the problem this time?" The tone in Weiss's voice caused Ruby to awkwardly scratch the side of her cheek: she could tell her partner was not amused. "You haven't been your usual cheerful self ever since we landed here, which I find quite strange since you begged Professor Ozpin for a mission like this."

"W-Well...About that..."

"I would also like to point out Ruby," At this point, Blake closed her book with a somewhat disappointed look. Whether it was from the fact that her leader had decided to keep her thoughts to herself and not share them with the whole team, or that she would have to postpone her reading, Ruby would never know: Blake always was the mysterious one out of their team. "You're the only one out of all of us to have their weapon drawn out. You're also the only who constantly looks around us whenever something suddenly pops up."

True to her words, Ruby's weapon, Crescent Rose, was held firmly in her hands, the blade glistening in the sunlight. It was also correct to say that Ruby was the most tense out of all of them, frequently jumping at a rustle in the trees or the bushes and pulling her weapon out in case of an enemy suddenly appearing before them.

Needless to say, Ruby had been taking many precautions during their trip.

"U-Um...I...was just really careful this time! You know, don't want to repeat any previous mistakes!...Right?"

Apparently, she also needed more practice in convincing people that she was fine. That skill really would help her in the future.

"Ruby..." The concerned tone in Yang's voice was the final sign that convinced Ruby that she should probably just admit what was bothering her.

"...Alright, you guys got me there." How things would always end up with her being the center of attention, she would never know. "I...just find it strange that things have been much easier this time around."

The rest of her team looked at one other, as if sending silent messages to each other. Finally, Weiss, known to openly express her thoughts frequently, slowly asked, "Let me get this straight. You were panicking, making constant excuses for your mishaps, all because you thought this mission was too easy?"

"...Will I get in trouble if I say yes?" Ruby quietly asked while pulling her best innocent look. Hopefully, her team would forgive her for making them concerned about her welfare.

All she received were exasperated sighs from the others.

"For some reason, I'm not surprised of this outcome." Weiss commented, her hand rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"At least it wasn't as serious as the last one..." Blake added, earning earnest nods of agreement from Weiss and Yang. Ruby, who decided to remain silent on the other hand, could simply chuckle awkwardly at their responses.

"Sorry guys. Guess I just let my mind slip away again."

"Ah, it's no problem, sis! Really!" Yang reassured, an attempt to cheer Ruby up. "Just be careful next time, okay? We can't spend time worrying about you if we're in a fight."

Ruby nodded in agreement, content that the matter had been resolved. "Right! Let's finish this mission so we can hurry back before-"

"GAHHHHHHHH!"

The blood-curtling scream pierced the once silent forest, disrupting the silence team RWBY were acquainted with. Around them, trees and bushes rustled with movement, the resting animals startled by the scream, leading to the majority of them to either hide or flee the area.

As for team RWBY, all four girls stood rigid once they heard the scream, their expressions mixed with shock and bewilderment. Before the group could comprehend what was happening, a loud growl was also heard, a growl which made the members of team RWBY's blood run cold.

Grimm. The enemy of mankind.

It wasn't the growl itself that startled team RWBY however. They were huntresses, after all, and it was their duty to protect those who were vulnerable to the grimm. They were no strangers to these kinds of noises.

What did startle them was the fact that the growl came from where the scream was presumed to be emitted from.

This either meant whoever screamed was currently fighting the grimm, having injured themselves in battle and releasing a cry in pain.

Or…

They were already the victim of a devastating attack.

The growling now no longer heard anymore, team RWBY looked at one another and nodded. They knew what needed to be done.

And they had no time to waste.

* * *

"Is something wrong?"

"...I feel as though...I've just felt something."

"Feeling...good? Or…bad?"

"...An intriguing one, to say the least."

* * *

What...on Remnant was this?

Earlier on, Ruby had used her semblance to dash ahead of the others, quickly closing in on where the source of the noises were. Being the fastest out of the four of them, it had taken her only a good couple of seconds to arrive at her destination.

But this…

This was not what she was expecting to see. No, not even expected. Wanted would be the better word to use here.

Black liquid was splattered everywhere, covering everything in its path with the substance. Trees, plants, all kinds of vegetation were either sliced or broken into various sizes of chunks. The ones that weren't completely destroyed on the other hand, displayed signs that a battle had taken place here. And the ground...Dear god, she counted at least eight disintegrated grimm bodies, unmoving with no life in them.

In short, the once peaceful scenery appeared as a withered warzone.

 _This...I can't even..._ Ruby stuttered with her thoughts, her mind in a frenzy. Words could not describe what she saw, what she took in from the scenery. All she could do was to just stare in horror at what was in front of her.

In fact, the shock and horror was so much for Ruby that she didn't notice that there was a person standing in the middle of all the mess.

She probably wouldn't have noticed at all if it wasn't for the appearance of a Beowolf charging at the person, jaws wide open for the kill.

She also noticed how the person in question hadn't reacted at all towards the Beowolf's sudden appearance, and had done nothing to stop the oncoming attack.

Eyes widening in horror at what was about to come, Ruby cried out in an attempt to warn them, "Look out!"

However, her attempt was in vain as she watched, with wide eyes, the Beowolf approach the person's side and clamp its jaws around the person's shoulder.

Time stood still for a moment, disbelief hanging from the air. Then, both figures shuddered and fell forward, their bodies landing with a heavy thud.

* * *

"Say, I have a question for you."

"What is it?"

"What would happen if, let's say, our dear guest suddenly decides to perish. You know, like how normal humans do when their lives end? What do we do then? All this hard work would be for naught, wouldn't it?"

"You...are worried that we may be wasting our time in trying to give our guest a second chance in life?"

"...Wow, way to be a blunt dick sometimes...Now you made me feel bad for even asking such a question..."

"..."

"...In layman's terms, yes, that is what I'm asking."

"Death...impossible...for dear guest."

"...Really dude? Look, I know we all, you especially, care about our dear guest. We all decided to intervene, after all. But death comes for all living things, regardless of how powerful they can be. I'm just saying, maybe we should just be a tad more careful with what we're going to put our dear guest through."

"...I am well aware of this, my comrade."

"And you, out of all the deities I've met, had no problem with flipping his psychotic, madness, ex-craziness nature switch on? I mean, I get that you were trying to protect him and all that stuff, but what guarantee do you have for his safety, his welfare, his-"

"Another...similar to...loved one..."

"...Impossible. The scythe-user already perished. There is by no means any method for her to resurrect into this world."

"..."

"...No way...That means..."

"It is indeed what it means. It is reality, after all."

"...Dear god….How much pain do we have to put our guest through? I can't even...How is he going to react to all of this?"

"...Only time will tell, along with the power he wields."

"Power...to save...or to destroy?"

"That...is a very good question. I suppose it depends on what he chooses to do."

* * *

No…

No.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no!

This couldn't be happening!

The thought continuously repeated itself over and over in her mind as she stared upon the scene with a horrified expression. Her pulse quickening, her heartbeat hammering against her chest, Ruby wasted no time in deploying her weapon and sprinted towards the grimm, eyes now flashing with renewed vigour.

The grimm in question raised its head from the person's body and snarled in retaliation. Another human, huh? How foolish. It would finish this one, just like it had finished this pathetic human before it and-

The grimm's thoughts were interrupted when it felt a metal blade run along its furry neck. It looked down, spotting the little girl pull the trigger of her weapon.

Without a thought of hesitation, Ruby swung Crescent Rose and decapitated the Beowolf, its head and body landing with a dull thud on the ground.

She would have been amazed at how she managed to pull off such a clean kill were it not for the fact that a person's life depended on her right now.

Withdrawing Crescent Rose, Ruby hurried towards the injured person in question, preparing herself for the dreadful injury they had received beforehand and-

…

Wasn't...there supposed to be a lot of blood spouting from the wound?

…

Wait, what in the-

Ruby stared, transfixed and speechless at what she saw.

Jaw marks from the Beowolf's teeth vanished, as if they had never existed in the first place. Cashes that should have been left from the Beowolf slowly began to close up, leaving no evidence of the past attack. And the blood...From afar, Ruby had believed the person had been losing a large amount of blood. Could it be that, in reality, the person was able to repair the wound in just a short matter of time? How was that even possible? There was no way they could have made such a swift recovery in-

"I might bite your face off if you're this close to me, you know?"

Reflexes kicking in, Ruby instantly backed away from the person, clear shock towards their sudden awakening. The speaker in question, their eyes now wide open, paid no attention to Ruby, instead decided to stretch their arms and got up, looking around them while doing so.

"Aww...they're all dead..." They pouted as though the mere fact disappointed them. "And I didn't have enough fun with them yet..." Sighing, they tipped their head from left to the right. "I wonder if I played with them too much...Maybe I should play more slowly next time..."

...Ruby did not like how this person was using the word "play". If it turned out to be what she thought it might be…

She shuddered at the thought. Not possible. If the person had been truly "playing" with the grimm, then they wouldn't have gotten this much injured during the fight. With so much composure and the playful nature in their voice, they would have been able to easily destroy them without worrying about their safety.

Maybe they hit their head a bit too hard when they fell on the ground? Yeah, that sounds about right! They probably injured themselves so much that they were just spouting a bit of nonsense, meaning they would return back to normal in a few seconds!

Besides, there was no way they wouldn't really consider the grimm as a-

"Oh look! Another plaything for me to play with!"

Ruby went rigid when she heard those words, and slowly turned towards them. This time, the dazed expression was replaced by a look of sheer excitement and vigour. A wide smile was stretched across their face, teeth glistening in the sunlight. And their eyes...gone was the curious look, replaced by the movement of darting eyes watching her every move.

So...this wasn't going to end well, would it?

"H-Hey, are you alright? Y-You were injured in that last fight with the Beowolf." Ruby shakingly asked, meanwhile slowly taking a couple of steps away from the person. Fear started to cloud her mind, and every reasonable instinct inside her ordered her to run away from this strange person.

She was almost tempted to do so. Criminals, she could deal with. Grimm? No problem.

Possibly psychotic, crazy-minded, insane people? She had issues with those kind of people.

They shook their head in disagreement, smile reaching the sides of their cheeks. "But playing will me so much fun! Let's play, okay?" As they asked the question, they picked up the battered stick that was on the ground, covered in the black substance that had enveloped the entire area.

At this point, Ruby brought Crescent Rose out. She didn't like how things were going so far. "I-I don't think that's a good idea." Her throat now dry, her advice came out as a raspy gasp.

Either they didn't hear her or they didn't care, the person continued to slowly advance towards Ruby. "You will? Yay! Let's get started then!"

The cheer echoed throughout the forest area, and for once, Ruby hoped her teammates would be able to reach her in time.

"But I should warn you about something, okay?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Ruby returned to her bearings only to come face to face with the person in question.

" **My BlOoD iS bLaCk, YoU kNoW?** "

* * *

"So...here's a scenario for you to think about. What do ya think would happen if the two met each other?"

"...What do you think will happen?"

"Well...I'd imagine he would either jump for joy when he sees her...Although that would kinda be out of character for him..."

"You mentioned 'either'...What did you mean by that?"

"Well...Considering his usual persona...And taking in account of the resemblance between the two of them...I'd say he'd probably start freaking out...Maybe even run away...Something like that..."

"..."

"Your silence worries me. Why so quiet all of a sudden?"

"Incorrect...Third option...there is..."

"What 'third option'? He'd either be really happy she's here, or really sad from what he's done to her. What other option does he-"

"Madness."

"...Son of a-"

"Indeed. I am concerned of how our dear guest will fare with this new team. But, as you all know-"

"Sigh...I know,,,I know…'Thou shalt not interfere with thy fate'...Blah, blah, blah..."

"Contract...absolute. Rules...must follow..."

"As long as we abide by these rules, all shall go well. Should we choose to interfere, however-"

"We get it. 'All hell shall break loose' and all that crap...I really despise this contract sometimes..."

"...Indeed."

* * *

"Aw, come on! Why won't you stay still? We have so much time together! I want to keep on playing, so you should play me too!"

Pain coursing through her body, Ruby struggled to pull herself together as she leaped out of her opponent's way, swinging Crescent Rose at ducked under her weapon, grabbing it in the process, and pulled Ruby towards them. However, having been given a better hold of her weapon, Ruby managed to firmly grasp her weapon before kicking her opponent with enough force to send them flying a few meters away from her.

She wondered, as she dodged another of the person's attack, how things had went so south during their battle. At first, she had a clear advantage against her opponent. Her speed, her weapon, her fighting skill: they all supported her during their fight. She believed she had this all in the bag.

That was before her opponent began to use their semblance.

Well, she still had no clue if that was their semblance in the first place. For a person's semblance to exist, their aura must have been activated. After all, a semblance was essentially the manifestation of aura, granting them the ability to freely use and control their semblance.

In the beginning, Ruby thought her opponent did not have any aura. The cuts Crescent Rose gave clearly pointed that out, leaving indications as to where she struck her opponent.

So it came to a surprise when their wounds slowly began to heal at a point during their fight. Maybe they simply had a really weak aura, just barely able to heal her opponent's wounds.

She then became horrified when they took the stick they had in the beginning and stabbed themselves in the hand. The action had been so quick, so out of place, that she was completely caught off guard by it.

Horror was immediately replaced by shock when black fluid escaped from their wound, the same black fluid that covered the forest area. Was it their blood that was represented by the black fluid? Or maybe even a different kind of substance that existed in their body?

She didn't have any time to ponder on the topic when they suddenly threw the black substance at them.

At the moment, she had been incredibly confused. Why bother throwing it at her? At best, they could attempt to blind her for a few seconds, allowing them to take advantage of her loss of sight.

Ruby did not expect the black fluid to harden into the shape of a crescent. Especially since, after she moved out of the way, the black crescent had been hard enough to leave a gruff gash against a tree.

And thus, it was here where she found herself against her opponent, desperately trying to avoid their attacks. So far, it had been increasingly difficult to do so as her opponent was relentlessly attacking her, having little care for their own welfare. An example of this was when they had used their own body as a shield, feeling no pain when they were struck by Crescent Rose, instead continuing to attack her with no hesitation.

Needless to say, Ruby began to think this fight would not end in her favour.

Another thrown black crescent snapped her out of her thoughts, forcing her to quickly duck under it. Not bothering to look behind her when she heard the sound of the crescent hitting something, Ruby, with the help of her semblance, rushed towards her opponent and swung Crescent Rose. Her opponent, still grinning madly, in return produced a long blade of the hardened black fluid from their stab wound and returned the swing. Their blades met, the sound of metal clanging against a hard solid echoing in the forest.

"You know, now that I think about it..." It took all her resolve to not immediately jump back when they spoke, their voice filled with unusual curiosity. "You kinda remind me of someone...Can't remember who, but I think they used a shiny, special scythe like yours...Maybe? Did they? I can't remember..."

Completely caught off guard by their sudden question, Ruby barely managed to step out of the way when they swung their right arm at them. "Can't remember anything..." They continued mumbling, their expression turning more dazed by the second. "Why? Why can't I remember anything? Friend? What friend? Killer? Me? Kinshin? Me? Black bl-"

This time, Ruby interrupted their muttering by firing a couple of rounds at them, to which they leaped out of the way for safety. Wasting no time, she hurried towards them, swinging Crescent Rose and-

They stopped the swing midway with their arm.

...Well shoot.

"You know..." There was an eerie tranquility in their voice, a huge contrast to how they were acting before. "I don't know many things, but..." They looked up, their expression having been hidden from the bangs of their hair. "...It's not nice to interrupt people when they're talking."

A cheerful smile appeared. The black substance on the ground beneath them began to bubble. Distracted, Ruby quickly looked down.

In an instant, the black fluid had solidified into various spikes and slammed into Ruby, throwing her into the air. Without a moment of hesitation, her opponent once again produced the black blade and struck it against her side, sending her crashing into the trunk of a tree. Only until the sound of crashes and rumbles were barely audible did they continue to speak, their smile twisted into a sickly grin.

"...So why not stay quiet? We'll have so much fun now, fun that will never, ever end."

* * *

"So tell me, who d'ya think would win in a fight? Our guest, or that l'il group of girls which you like to call 'his saviours'?"

"...Victory...never guaranteed. Fate...chooses victor."

"Yeah, that's true and all, but surely one of them would have a better chance in a fight. So...who'd it be?"

"...Individually, he would win, no doubt. His strength looms over theirs, casting a shadow that will swallow them whole."

"So in short, they're pretty much screwed?"

"...Not quite..."

* * *

She couldn't move. Rather, it was impossible for her to move.

That single attack from her opponent, that single blow from the hardened black substance, had sent her crashing straight into the tree. It had depleted all of her aura, leaving her with no energy to get back up. Besides, even if she did have the tiny bit of strength left to continue the fighting, there was no way she would be able to remove all of the twigs and branches currently trapping her in place. And with Crescent Rose lying on the opposite side of the forest clearing, her chances of standing back up were grim.

All she could was to hopelessly gaze at her opponent as they slowly staggered towards her, the twisted grin still remaining on their face. The black fluid had disappeared, presumably reverting back to its original state.

A sharp pain could suddenly be felt where her opponent struck her, and she held back a grimace. Was this how her life would truly end? Separated by her friends and family, her dream of becoming a huntress only to be shattered into pieces?

As much as she wanted to deny the fact that this would be the end, there was very little she could do to change her fate. She had no means to defend herself, no energy to continue the fighting. What could she do to prevent her opponent from finishing her off? Nothing she could think of answered her question, causing her to begrudgingly admit her defeat and-

"You know, you kinda remind me of someone I used to know."

Eyes widening, Ruby looked up from her position to see her opponent standing over her, peering down at her with a curious expression. "I don't know why," They continued, their voice matching their curiosity, "But I feel like I met you before...As if...we've seen each other before..."

They droned on, eyes appearing dazed as if searching for an answer to their confusion. It wasn't until long before they spoke again, this time asking, "What's your name?"

"My...name?" Ruby coughed out, the pain now spreading everywhere in the middle region of her body.

Her opponent nodded. "Yep. Your name." They paused, then asked curiously, "You...do have a name, right? Everyone should have one, I think."

Ruby hesitantly nodded, still wondering if she should answer their question. In the end, however, she figured she had nothing to lose from answering.

After all, her life was about to end, right?

"W-well," She took a gulp of fresh air, throat still dry from the fighting, and continued. "My name is Ru-"

No sooner did she reach the end of her sentence did her opponent suddenly reel back, as if harmed by her words. Their eyes shut close, teeth clenched tightly, they brought their head to their hands, muttering various things to themselves.

"Wh-what am I seeing?" They muttered, lost in their own thoughts. "N-no...I-I didn't want that to..." They flinched, as if the thought had burned them. "I-I didn't want that to happen! I didn't want to hurt them!" Another flinch. "O-Oh god, no! Please no! No!"

Silence. Then…

"...Maka?" They whispered, eyes peering out of the cracks of their hands and staring right at Ruby. "Wh-where am I? I don't remember-"

Sudden realization spread across their face as they saw what they had done. "No...:" A faint murmur was heard, and the familiar black blade reappeared.

"No, No, NO, NO, NO, **NO** , **NO** , **NO!** "

They dashed forward, bringing the blade down. Ruby clenched her eyes shut, not wanting to watch what would transpire next.

And yet...the pain never came.

"Not again!" Hearing her opponent speak, Ruby hesitantly opened one eye to shockingly find her opponent slashing away the branches off of her, careful not to hurt her in any way.

"Not again, not again, not again, not again!" They repeated the single phrase as they continued to cut the remaining branches off of Ruby, no intention of stopping until all the branches were gone. Once they were out of the way, Ruby could only stare in astonishment as her opponent produced a hand to help them back up.

"I'm-"

They would have finished their sentence were it not for the sudden fist colliding into their side, sending them flying into the forest clearing.

* * *

"Sigh...What do you mean by 'not quite'?"

"I specifically said that he could defeat all four of them **individually**. I did not specify what were to happen if all four decided to fight him all at once."

"...And what exactly would happen if they did?"

"...Critical recovery awaits him in the future."

* * *

Crona groaned, slowly trying to rise from the ground. Whatever sent him flying managed to break a couple of his ribs, emitting immense pain in his body. Surprise was felt that he was even able to stand; he was sure he would have no energy to even lift his head.

Somehow, he did. First a foot, then a hand, and finally his whole body. It took immense resolve to not scream out in pain whenever something brushed his side, and the headache he had definitely did not help.

Still, he managed to stand, taking in the surroundings around him. A question immediately arose once he took it all in.

What...exactly just happened?

Trees were destroyed, the vegetation damaged at the point of no longer living. The ground was covered in cracks, slash marks pattering the dirt and soil. And the blood...so much blood, both red and black, were splattered everywhere, covering everything in a mixture of the two colours.

Did...did he do all of this?

A sudden recalling of past events flowed in, and he tucked his head in his arms, the pain beating against his skull. Images suddenly flashed before his eyes: the creatures dying around him, his fit of madness, the sudden appearance of his opponent before him, his battle against the girl-

Crona let out a gasp. The girl. He hadn't, he didn't-

"Are you the one who hurt my sister?!"

Head jerking up, Crona looked for the bearer of the voice. He didn't need to look long to find who was speaking.

In front of him, three other girls had appeared where he had last seen the injured girl, bringing a grand total of four. Each of them were wearing representative colours for their attires: yellow, black, white, and the currently injured one, red. He watched the one wearing white help the red one up, lending them a shoulder to lean on. Meanwhile, yellow and black drew out their weapons, pointing them directly at him.

...Wait..

N-No! It wasn't what it looked like! He didn't intentionally attack her!

"I-I didn't mean to…" Crona tried to apologize, an attempt to defuse the situation. There had already been enough fighting: he didn't want to hurt anyone else!

Unfortunately, his response was constructed of a poor choice of words.

"So you did hurt her..." The yellow one snarled back, her hands clenched into fists. They shook with such vigour, with such anger.

The black and white ones looked at each other and nodded, deciding to carry their injured comrade away from the yellow one. Crona frowned at this. Why would they-

" **AAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!** "

The yellow one slammed her fists against one another, sending a shockwave around her. Her eyes turned red, burning a violent fire. Her hair glowed, illuminating the area with its yellow glow.

...Oh dear.

"Let me make this straight, bud," Crona visibly flinched when the girl addressed him, and instantly took a step back. The amount of energy pouring off of the girl, it was enough for his instincts to scream at him to run away, to flee the area. "Nobody, I mean nobody, gets to hurt my sister. The ones who do..."

She took a deep breath and cracked her knuckles, the sound echoing around them.

" **They answer to me!** "


	5. Passage - Reflection

**Decided to work on a short passage while writing the next few chapters for the story. Nothing really crucial to the plot, but it might be a good idea to keep this kind of information in mind.**

 **That said, enjoy the little passage I whipped up.**

* * *

 **Passage: Reflection**

You are weak. Hopeless.

You believed that the bonds between people are what gave you the strength to come this far. You relied on these people, these so called "friends" of yours, so much that you have blinded yourself with the illusion that you could achieve anything with them. You repeated the simple phrase, "It's alright. I have my friends with me. Everything's gonna to be alright." constantly every time something life-threatening came up, something that could break the bonds you worked so hard for.

You believed that the bonds between those you consider dear to you are eternal, that they will never fade.

You were wrong. Incorrect.

The moment you chose to sacrifice yourself for their sake, you believed everything would turn out okay. Maybe, in the future, they would forgive you for what you did. If you were lucky, perhaps they would even find a way to rescue you.

You were wrong. Incorrect.

Bitterness and depression began to swell inside of you as you continued to wait, building up like a fountain of water. At first, there's only a tiny spark, but like everything, the feeling overcomes your mind, and you cannot help yourself as you fall deeper into the darkness that is your mind.

You don't know how to deal with the isolation, the confinement from everyone else back home. The darkness you now call home is nothing but a prison, keeping you trapped here for all of eternity.

Why, you ask. Why me? Why did I have to suffer? What did I do to deserve all of this?

You continuously ask these questions out loud, yet don't receive any answers. Of course, you already know this. You are alone in the darkness, and have no one to talk to.

Well, no one but him.

In the beginning, he is a mere whisper just in the back of your mind, barely talking as you continue to wait in the darkness. But as time passes on, and you slowly succumb to the madness, you being to talk to him. During the many conversations you have with him, he helps you realize the ugly truth, the truth that shattered your "perfect" world.

You have no one.

Your friends have abandoned you, leaving you to rot in this eternal cage. They have forgotten about you already, and have most likely moved on with their own lives. For all you know, they probably placed the blame on you for everything you've done.

You don't blame them for their accusations: from their perspectives, they have all the right to blame you for all the chaos you caused. But you can't help but feel as though a crack appears in your heart each time you repeat this truth in your mind.

Humans, he tells you, are selfish, ignorant, disgusting things. They only care about themselves, and no one else. They only wish to find success in their own lives, and will do anything in order to achieve their own selfish goals. And once they're done using you, they'll toss you into the trash without any concern of your welfare and move on with their lives.

Does this surprise you? I find it astounding that you do. After all, you never truly had any real friends, remember?

The bonds you so proudly speak of? They are nothing but illusions, acting as the green grass that hides the venomous snake which lashes out at any vulnerable prey.

That girl you speak so proudly of, who was it again? Ah yes, the supposed "saviour" you're so fond of?

…

She's probably forgotten all about you already, maybe even found another person to like.

His words overlap your mind, and you cannot help but believe the messages he delivers. In the darkness, you soon find yourself screaming out in despair, your wails and cries of agony and misery matching the surroundings around you. No one is there to comfort you, to tell you that, "Everything is going to be okay!", and you being to drown in the pool of hopelessness you struggled so long to stay afloat in.

In short time, you finally break down from all the emotions stirring inside of you. The combination of the harsh reality and his crude messages unlock something dark in your heart, and you show no struggle in trying to prevent the madness from consuming your mind.

In comes a victim of humanity's cruelty, only to return as a heartless monster.

…

You are weak. Hopeless.

And somehow, you've been reduced to a state as pathetic as a heap of trash.


	6. Introducing A Lie

**Alright. Finally got this chapter done. Won't waste too much of your time, so I'll keep this brief.**

 **For those who didn't know, I posted an update regarding the story and why I decided to take a short break from writing.**

 **...The problem was, I may or may not have been bedridden with a cold for 3 days, not letting me write for the duration of the weekend.**

 **...Yeah, life is sometimes really difficult to work with.**

 **Anyways, here's chapter 3. It might disappoint some of you, to which I sincerely apologize, but...yeah, I do think this chapter could have been better.**

 **Well, I'll stop wasting your time. If you have anything you wish for me to change, just drop a review and I'll gladly read it over.**

 **\- Pyrothemusical.**

* * *

 **Introducing A Lie**

Darkness. It surrounded him, swallowing him whole.

Crona hesitantly opened his eyes and looked around him. Everywhere he looked, plain darkness met his gaze. There was nothing going on around him, just an empty void that represented his surroundings.

That is, until he looked ahead.

A small, white light flickered in front of him, illuminating the small area around it. Time passed on, and the small light eventually grew in size, reaching to the point of it resembling the size of a human being.

Crona looked at it with a hint of uncertainty. The light expanded, and transformed into the shape of a person.

A person whom Crona was terribly familiar with.

With widened eyes, Crona bolted forwards, his feet travelling as fast as they could. The person in question spotted them, sending a small wave towards their direction, before turning around and slowly walking away.

"W-Wait! Don't go!"

His shout echoed in the darkness, but the person paid him no attention. The distance between the two slowly began to grow, and he desperately tried to catch up to them.

"P-Please wait! Don't leave!"

They continued to ignore his pleas, each of their footsteps echoing in the darkness, making a distinct clicking sound each time they took a step. Occasionally, they would take a quick glance behind them, but resumed their walking as if undisturbed by Crona's presence.

"Please! I'm begging you, don't-"

His feet stumbled, and Crona fell flat on the ground. He struggled to get back up, but whatever force that existed in this place was pushing him back down, preventing him to stand back up. Desperate, Crona reached out a hand, as if pleading for them to take his hand.

"Please!"

To his dismay, the person continued to walk, their footsteps becoming fainter by the second. Soon, the light which had illuminated the person began to fade, the darkness eventually swallowing them whole.

By the time he could stand, they had disappeared, the light gone and the footsteps now lost in the dead silence that filled the darkness.

"No..."

He struggled to continue chasing after them, but any remaining energy left vanished, leaving him to helplessly fall to the ground in defeat.

He had failed. Again.

"...Why?" Crona whispered, his voice echoing in the darkness. "Why can't I reach out to you? Why can't I stop you from leaving me here?"

His questions left unanswered, all Crona could do was stare at the direction the person was headed towards. How badly he wanted to follow them, to confront them in person, he didn't know. But he knew he would give anything just to make them stay a little longer.

Sadly, he couldn't, and the mere thought tore him apart.

"...We promised each other we could be friends, remember?" The rhetorical question was asked, and Crona knew he would receive no answer. "That day, the day we merged our souls together, didn't you say we could be friends?"

Tears streamed down his cheeks when he asked his next question. "Aren't friends supposed to stay with each other until the very end?"

No longer able to hold it in anymore, Crona released the emotional outburst he had tried so hard to hide. Soon, wails of agony replaced the silence in the void, and the shaking figure of an emotionally broken person could be seen through the darkness.

* * *

Crona found himself lying on a bed, abruptly waking up from the nightmare.

Well, he presumed it had been a nightmare. There was no way it had been a dream, much less a pleasant one. Everything about it, from the everlasting darkness, to the hopeless chase after the light, had been unpleasant.

He should have expected this. He had always been very susceptible to the nightmares ever since he was a child, no doubt to the treatment Lady Medusa gave him. Luckily, the beeping he heard woke him up before things had gone south, and he was very lucky that-

He froze at this. Beeping?

Rising up suddenly, Crona took in his surroundings. Rather, his new surroundings so to speak.

What awaited him was a completely white room, filled to the brim with various medical equipment and furniture that matched the colour. From the curtains draped on the wall, to the various chairs surrounding him, they all resembled the colour white.

His bed contained a very sturdy, yet soft, mattress, supporting his light body with no difficulty. Metal railings were attached to each side, presumably to make sure he did not roll of the bed. To his left, some sort of machine was placed on a stand, its wires attached to the side of his arm. The machine repeatedly made a beeping sound, no doubt the cause of his awakening.

With all this taken in, Crona presumed he was in some kind of medical ward, perhaps even a hospital. All the hints certainly pointed towards the ideal theory of where he was.

Thus remained only one single question.

How did he arrive here?

He had no recollection of being transported to this room, and he could only remember few things from the past events. The last thing he could remember was the sight of an angry girl roaring at him with fury, alongside a couple of other girls on the side. After that, there had been darkness, his nightmare, and now this.

So who brought him here, and why?

"Ah. You're awake."

Jolted out of his thoughts, Crona spun his head towards the door of his room. Greeting him were what seemed to be two professors, both wearing glasses and properly dressed. One had blonde hair, held what seemed to be a riding crop, and possessed what Crona could possibly describe to be one of the strictest aura an adult could give off.

Inwardly, Crona gulped. Perhaps it was best to not annoy this professor: he would not want to get off on the wrong foot.

On the other hand, the other professor seemed to be the complete opposite. He had gray hair, held a cane, and gave one of the most sincere smiles Crona had ever seen. In fact, the moment he saw that smile, something fluttered in Crona's stomach, and his breathing hitched a little.

Upon entering, the male professor noticed Crona and warmly greeted him. "Good morning. You have been sleeping for quite awhile now."

Crona continued to stare at the spectacled man as he pulled a chair to the side of his bed. "I do believe introductions are needed. This," He gestured to his female companion, "Is my trusted colleague Glynda Goodwitch. And I," He gestured to himself, "Am Professor Ozpin."

Crona's stare grew even more confusing when the man's smile slightly widened.

"Now, could you tell us what you remember? Presumably, what happened these past few days?"

* * *

"What happened...the past days..."

Those were the first few words Crona said as he recovered from the initial shock he received upon Ozpin and Glynda's arrival. After that, there was silence, only for Crona to slowly shake his head.

Ozpin sighed, more so out of fatigue than out of disappointment. It seemed as though it would take a bit of time to refresh their patient's memory. "I see. Then perhaps this will help you remember what happened. Glynda?"

Glynda nodded at the mention of her name and took out some sort of device that displayed...a hologram screen? He didn't know what to make of the device. "According to team RWBY, who were sent to investigate the forest region north of Emerald Forest for any lingering Grimm, they reported to hear anguished screams coming from the center of the area. Naturally, team leader Ruby Rose rushed ahead without thinking, only to come across...you." Her eyes narrowed at the mention of Crona's encounter with Ruby, but made no extra comment on it.

Ozpin nodded in thanks for the brief recount, then turned towards Crona. "Does this seem familiar to you at all?" he asked, curiosity expressed on his face.

It took a few seconds before Crona gave an answer, nodding his head in response. "Then," Ozpin continued, this time his voice reflecting the serious expression on his face, "You should know that you attacked Ruby Rose when she asked if you needed help, and-"

"A-Are they hurt? Th-they're not dead, are they?"

The sudden question surprised both professors, exchanging a quick glance to each other before turning their gaze at Crona again, who at this point was shaking in anticipation for an answer.

"I assure you," Ozpin slowly replied, careful of each word he said. "No members of team RWBY have been reported to bear any severe injuries. Their aura was enough to absorb most of the damage done to their bodies. On the other hand, you received critical injuries during the fight, injuries that landed you in the hospital for a couple of days."

Crona exhaled, relieved that the girls were okay. They seemed to be good people, and good people didn't deserve the fate he delivered. And if he had somehow hurt them badly, he would only be increasing the number of crimes he committed.

Though, now that he thought about it, it didn't really matter, now did it? The amount of corpses he created from the innocent were already more than he could count for. A few more didn't really matter now…

Crona shook his head violently, trying to get the dark thoughts out of his mind. No, he couldn't, mustn't think like that. That was one of the easiest ways he would go mad, and he had to make sure he didn't go mad, no matter what happened.

"However, that does bring me to my next question. Why did you attack them?"

Crona heart stopped at Ozpin's question, making him slowly turn to face the professor. It would be so easy to explain his condition, to explain the pain he had gone through his entire life because of **her** …

And yet, he couldn't.

If he did, not only would that expose his unique abilities, but that would also lead questions towards Crona's arrival in this strange place. It would complicate matters between the two parties, and Crona fully believed curiosity would get the better of the two adults he was currently speaking with, making them dig deeper into Crona's situation.

So for now, he would remain silent until he knew for sure the people he met, he talked to, could be trusted.

"...I-I..." It took awhile for Crona to regain his composure, and only until he could properly breath again did he say, "I don't know..."

Ozpin frowned at this, unsatisfied with Crona's response. The stuttering and hesitation in the boy's voice gave off a certain hint that something was off, and the boy himself knew it.

Regardless, he would press for answers later: right now, there were more pressing matters to discuss about.

"...Very well. Then, is it alright if we ask you a few questions? There are some things we would like to know, and would no doubt help us in helping you."

Silence was Crona's only response, having no intention of responding to a comment like that. It had been so long since someone had truly offered help to him. Every other time, they would either look at him in disgust or scorn him off.

Receiving help from someone else was definitely something Crona did not know how to deal with.

"...I will take that as a yes." Ozpin eventually said, the tiredness returning in his voice. He could already tell where this was going. "Now, what is your name?"

"...Pass..." Crona quietly murmured, the bangs of his hair hiding his eyes from his two caretakers.

"...Please, we are only trying to help you. There is no need for you to be afraid of us."

"...Pass..."

Glynda, obviously frustrated with the continuous "chasing for clues" game, explained in a stern voice. "Sir, it is necessary we know what your name is so that we may have a proper way of addressing you. Now, please tell us your name."

"...Pass..."

An exhale of breath escaped from Glynda's mouth, tempting her to lash out on the child for the nonsensical frustration they were currently experiencing. However, a wave of a hand from Ozpin told her to stand down, and she did so, albeit with much reluctance.

"...Your eyes." Crona's eyes widened when Ozpin finally spoke up. "They are hollow, empty, as if the light that illuminates life itself has disappeared in them. And I believe I have seen that look only in the eyes of experienced huntsmen and huntresses."

Ozpin waited a few seconds before continuing, carefully watching for any reaction from Crona. "...I will not press for details on what happened in your past. And I promise you that we have no ill intentions of hurting you. But we would like to know your name at the very least. So," He leaned forward, concern evident in his tone. "Could you please tell us your name?"

"...Crona Go-" He stopped himself, almost using the name he despised so much. There was no need for them to know about his past life. "M-Makenshi."

Ozpin smiled a bit, glad that Crona was at least being cooperative with them. Leaning back in his chair, Ozpin prepared to ask his next question.

"Thank you, Crona. Now, could you tell us where you come from?"

* * *

It had been a good 30 minutes since Ozpin began asking questions to Crona.

30 minutes of continuous silence from Crona.

Well, that was what Glynda remarked it to be, to which Ozpin disagreed with her comment. It may have been true that Crona spent most of the time simply nodding and shaking his head to their questions, or even preferring to remain silent whenever he felt uncomfortable to answer a question, but they had made some reasonable progress with their guest.

Sadly however, Ozpin did agree that they had gained nothing useful from this supposed "questioning". Questions regarding where the child came from, why he was in the middle of a Grimm populated forest with no weapon, and how he found himself in said location were met with a shaking of the head from Crona. In addition, similar questions about his semblance, aura, and the scarred battlefield he left behind were met with silence, prodding Ozpin to move on with a different question.

With a heavy sigh, Ozpin decided to ask one last question before leaving Crona to . "Very well. A final question. Do you have any means of contacting your family and friends?"

"...Friends? Family?"

Ozpin frowned, unsure what to make of Crona's hesitant response, before softly saying, "Surely there are people who will miss you, Crona. I would imagine that in your current position, you will be staying here for a couple of weeks to recover, so it may be best for you to contact those who will become worried-"

"N-No more questions….No more...P-Please..."

The faint murmur was enough to catch Ozpin and Glynda's attention, and both adults were shocked to see Crona suddenly breathing heavily, his entire figure shaking violently. Exchanging worried glances, Ozpin gently placed his hand on Crona's shoulder and asked, "Crona?"

He ignored them, clutching his head with his hands. The throbbing in the back of his head, the pounding of his heartbeat: they were all there, co-existing as one inside his body. He couldn't properly think anymore, and everything around him turned into swirls of colours and flashing lights.

The madness...That must have been what was causing him all this pain. But what could he do to stop it?

...No. It was too late. The madness had already swallowed him whole.

Now, all that came from the madness was the pain.

"...I-It hurts..." The faint murmur could barely be heard before it continued. "...It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts!"

At this point, Crona was practically screaming in pain, the sudden change in tone of his voice making Ozpin and Glynda rise up from their seats. "M-Make it stop! M-Make the pain go away! P-Please make it stop! Please!"

"Mr. Makenshi! Please calm down!" Glynda's shout was ignored as the screams became louder. Soon, sobs could be heard from Crona as tears fell from his face, his eyes frantically darting everywhere.

"Why won't the pain disappear? I just want it to go away! Please! Just make it-"

All of a sudden, his body went slack, as if he was a puppet and his strings were cut by a pair of scissors. His head crashed against his bedframe, his eyes slightly widening upon impact before slowly closing shut. The shaking suddenly came to an abrupt stop, and for a good few seconds, there was only silence in the room.

Ozpin immediately knelt by Crona's side, quickly checking for his pulse. After confirming that the child had one, albeit critically weak, he said, "Glynda, contact the doctors immediately and notify them of their patient's sudden condition. If something similar were to occur with no one around, I am afraid of what possible outcomes may arrive in the future."

Without a moment's hesitation, Glynda gave a firm nod and proceeded to notify the doctors of what had recently happened. Meanwhile, Ozpin, not risking the moment to glance at his colleague, could simply stare at Crona's unconscious state, his eyes mixed with both pity and incertitude.

 _What could have possibly traumatized him to this extent?_

* * *

"Something up?"

"...No. It's nothing. Our guest appears to still be alive. Which is...good, after all."

"...Right...Don't put it like that, okay? The way you say it makes it sound creepy..."

"Apologies, I will work harder on it. Has our comrade found the weapon yet?"

"Sigh...no luck so far. But our sources are saying we're getting closer to finding it."

"Good, good. If we can find it, we'll finally be able to reunite the two of them together."

"...Right. Anyways, we should probably hurry. The more time we talk here, the more we're going to make _it_ mad for leaving _it_ alone."

"Ah, yes. You're absolutely right. It would be best if we help out our comrade as well: continuously searching for _it_ must be quite tiresome."

"..."

"...We'll be right back, Crona. Please, do hang onto what little sanity you have left, okay?"

* * *

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

The clock in his room continued ticking, the pendulum swinging back and forth. It was the only thing that kept his mind occupied while the doctors and nurses monitored his health, running multiple tests on his body for any lingering issues that would possibly affect his recovery.

Apparently, after he had passed out and the doctors finished performing checkups on his health, Ozpin had left to prepare something for him. He had no idea what this "something" was, but it left some sort of unsettling feeling in his stomach.

Surprises were never something Crona was ever fond of. Under Lady Medusa's care, "surprises" meant that she had a specific task for him to complete, usually about killing or hurting someone. And even during his time separated from Lady Medusa, Crona had the feeling he never truly appreciated the idea of something unexpected happening without him knowing of it.

So it was safe to say that the minutes spent waiting for Ozpin's return were quite...agonizing, to say the least.

"Mr. Makenshi?"

Crona tilted his head towards the nurse who addressed him. "You have a few visitors." She gestured towards the door which was beginning to open.

"Hello Crona. I trust you are doing well?" Ozpin smiled as he entered the room, quickly approaching Crona's side. Crona nodded in response as he allowed one of the nurses to help him into a comfortable sitting position.

"Y-Yeah." Crona replied softly, his throat dry from not using it for a long time. "U-Um, if you don't mind me asking, why are you here?"

"Ah yes. Well, I thought it would be best for you to meet your future caretakers."

The last word remained in Crona's mind as he repeated it several times. Finally, after he made sure that he clearly heard what Ozpin said, Crona hesitantly asked, "...Caretakers? I don't underst-"

The door creaked open, and 4 girls suddenly entered his room.

4 very **familiar** girls.

"H-Hey. Um, so, my name's Ruby, and it's nice to..." He didn't know who was speaking now, and he paid no attention to it. All he could do was stare at the group of girls.

Particularly, the one with the red hood.

No…No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no….

Why?

Why?

Why was **she** still alive?!

She couldn't be...she **shouldn't** be! After everything he saw, everything he did, it was impossible for her to still be alive!

So how was she appearing before him, as if nothing ever happened between the two of them?!

"N-No..." Crona shakingly spoke out, loud enough for everyone to hear. Whoever was speaking stopped, and it wasn't long until Ozpin, who recognized the sudden change in Crona's demeanor, cautiously asked if he was alright.

"S-Stay away..." The murmuring grew louder, resulting in Ozpin slowly approaching his side.

"Crona, they aren't here to hurt you." Ozpin reassured in a soothing voice, though he gestured behind his back for the girls to step away from the boy. "You have my promise that they-"

"STAY AWAY!"

The scream pierced the silence that filled the room, startling all occupants by the abrupt change in volume.

What followed after was chaos.

"P-Please! I d-don't want to hurt you anymore! I don't want to kill anyone! So please, g-get away from me!"

Crona could hear himself screaming, telling them to stay away from him. Something was beeping loudly, and his heart felt like it was about to burst. The room erupted in shouting voices and scurrying footsteps. His eyes became hazy, and all he could make out were a couple of figures running left and right around him. His mind was in a daze, and he could feel his strength leaving him once again.

"...P-Please, don't come near me...I'm...I'm..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he passed out, his eyes meeting darkness and the sound around him quickly turning into silence.

* * *

"What was that all about?"

Blake turned towards Weiss, who, out of the four of them, was the first one to recover from the incident. Shaking her head, she replied, "I...Honestly, I have no idea." Blake shuddered, desperately trying to forget what she witnessed. The screaming and yelling seemed almost torturous to remember. "The moment he saw us, he started yelling all sorts of things. I don't think he even recognized who we were."

Team RWBY currently stood outside Crona's room, all shaken by what had happened a few minutes ago. They could still hear the doctors scurrying around inside, shouting orders at each other and requesting explanations from Ozpin for their patient's sudden condition.

The door to the room opened and out came Ozpin, appearing as though he aged a few years. Sighing, he quietly stood next to the girls, not paying attention to their presence, and proceeded to tap his cane a few times against the ground, deep in thought. Team RWBY simply looked at each other: they had never seen their headmaster look so stressed before.

"...Well, I do believe that could have went better." Ozpin finally said as he turned towards the girls, a bitter smile greeting them.

"P-Professor! Is he alright?" Ruby asked, a concerned expression matching the tone of her voice. The others quickly gathered around their headmaster, their eyes filled with worry for what had just happened.

Ozpin sighed and took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose in the process. "He's resting now, so we can't say for sure. The doctors have confirmed that nothing critical occurred during his panic attack."

This allowed them to breathe in relief, relieved that the boy was going to be okay. But the concerned expressions did not vanish as Ozpin continued, "However, our friend seems to have been going through large amounts of mental stress and fatigue, rendering his body very weak. It may take some time until he properly recovers."

Ruby fiddled with her fingers, hesitant of asking what was on her mind. Finally, after mustering the courage to do so, she asked, "Um, d-do you know why he suddenly started yelling at us to go away? We didn't even get to talk to him once before he started freaking out."

Ozpin shook his head, indeed confused as to why Crona would suddenly act like that. It was reasonable that he would mentally lash out at the mention of friends and family: many PTSD victims possessed similar characteristics. But the panicking towards team RWBY's leader was something new, something different.

Perhaps...it was something related to their patient's behaviour when the two parties had first met?

"Tell me, Ms. Rose, what was his initial reaction when he first saw you?"

Ruby frowned, a bit confused towards her headmaster's unusual sudden question. "I...think he said something about me being familiar to someone he knew. Well, that was before he attacked me and, well..."

"I see. That is...quite interesting." Ozpin mused, tapping his cane against the ground a couple of times. It appeared as though their friend saw something in Miss Rose after all.

The only question now, was why? What was the significance behind all of this?

"Professor?"

Ozpin shut his eyes close before reopening them, a tired sigh escaping his mouth. The investigations would have to be saved for later: there were more pressing matters to be dealt with now. "Nevertheless, I do wish for you four to watch over him for the next few weeks. This will be a good chance to find out who he is and what his true intentions are." Seeing the hesitant glances exchanged between the girls, he added, "If you are concerned about your safety after that incident, I have made sure security has been increased regarding that room. Constant surveillance over the room will be present and should he try to attack any of you, the medical staff and security will be notified and sent here immediately to deal with him."

"B-But sir!" Weiss hesitantly protested, not wanting to accidentally insult the professor. "He can't even stand the sight of us before panicking! How are we supposed to watch over him if he's going to be like this all the time?!"

Ozpin nodded at Weiss's point before calmly explaining, "I will talk with him tomorrow and try to work out an agreement. So far, he seems to be the cooperative type; things will hopefully work out in the end."

"If you are uncomfortable with the idea of watching over your attacker, I can always find replacements for your roles." He added after another round of hesitant glances were exchanged. "You are not forced to do this, and I will not judge any of you if you find this difficult to deal with."

Of course, that would undoubtedly lead to some problems in convincing Crona to agree to having others watch him as he rested, but his students' safety were a top priority. His own intentions would be of a later importance: for now, he needed to hear the opinions of his students.

"No. It's our, no, my fault that he's like that in there. If anything, this is one way I can make up for my mistakes."

Everyone, including Ozpin himself, looked in surprise, at the speaker who decided to voice her decision. "I can't forgive him for what he did to Ruby, but he didn't deserve the beating I gave him."

"Yang..." Ruby murmured, concerned of her sister's welfare. She had been like that ever since they had returned from their mission, no doubt still feeling guilty of what she had done to the boy.

"I take it you wish to help him." A nod was all he received, and he understood. No words were necessary to understand his student's resolve. "I see. As for you three?"

The rest of the girls looked at each other before simultaneously nodding in agreement. Ruby answered in a determined voice, "We'll do it."

Ozpin inwardly smiled at their determination: they were indeed the right team of choosing for the job. "Very well. I'll make arrangements with the staff as to when you are allowed in the building to watch over him. Tomorrow, I will have a schedule prepared for you four. I leave the decision of when each of you will visit him to you."

With a simple nod to the girls, Ozpin began to walk away, wishing to give them a bit of time to discuss their new assignment amongst themselves. However, a single thought stopped him, and he turned around to speak to his students.

"Oh, and another thing I would like to add. Some scars can easily be reopened with careless wording. Please do be mindful of what you say around him. He seems to have...several demons haunting him at the moment."

With that said, Ozpin continued to walk away, the sound of his footsteps slowly becoming quieter until they could not be heard anymore. Team RWBY only stared at one another, confused at what their headmaster meant by what he said, before Ruby sighed and asked out loud, "This is gonna be a long week, huh?"

The others murmured in agreement, their eyes staring at the room their newly appointed "patient" was resting in.

* * *

Crona did not know how to deal with this.

In fact, he did not know how to deal with any of this at all.

After he had recovered from his...meeting with the girls (a recovery that took several hours before he could properly think again), Ozpin wanted to discuss future plans regarding his stay at the hospital. The headmaster of Beacon Academy told him that if he were to follow his doctor's instructions properly, his recovery would only take at least a week, two weeks at most.

Naturally, Crona could have used the black blood to speed up the recovery, but that would no doubt raise suspicion amongst the medical staff, including Ozpin himself.

It wasn't that he didn't trust the man; Crona was indeed grateful for the man's offer of letting him rest here. It was just that...he wasn't ready to tell Ozpin everything about him. Not now, perhaps even never.

Besides, the last time he placed his trust with someone…

...He had the feeling it ended very badly for them. It usually did when people offered him kindness.

Regardless, apart from the whole "trust" issue, this would give him plenty of time to think. It would allow him to clearly ponder on the dozen of questions in his head, and to plan ahead for the future.

That is, until Ozpin told him one last thing before he bid Crona farewell.

"I plan to arrange for the girls to watch over you while you recover from your injuries."

…

Clearly, he was joking, right? There was no way the headmaster was risking his own students' welfare in the presence of someone like him, right?

Apparently, Ozpin noticed the look of horror on his face, because he immediately followed with, "Crona, I understand you are afraid of what might happen if my students come in contact with you. I do not know why, but I am sure you have your reasons."

Reasons, huh? Oh, if only Ozpin knew the things he had done in the past, then he would surely be reconsidering his decision. But nevertheless, Crona kept his mouth shut and nodded in response.

"However, they wish to help you as they feel as though they are responsible for your injuries. Are you that keen on pushing them away, so much that you would ignore their offerings to help you?"

Silence was all that Ozpin received, prompting him to continue. "For the following days, each of the girls from team RWBY will be staying with you for an hour. They will continue to do this until your injuries are completely healed."

Ozpin waited for an answer, but received none. Knowing that it would take awhile for Crona to adjust to the idea, he sighed and said, "I know you are uncomfortable with this idea, but please know that we are all trying to help you. There is no need for you to suffer alone when there are others you can rely on."

The headmaster left after that, leaving a silent Crona behind. A few seconds later, he began to shake furiously.

Alone?

The very word tempted him to laugh out loud. If only the others knew why he was like this, then they too would desert him as well.

After all, why would people want to help a monster like him?

* * *

"How's he faring with all of this?"

The figure sighed as it turned towards its companions, their expressions a mixture of pity and concern towards their guest. "...He'll live from those injuries. The black blood was weakened, but he'll live. As for his mental state though..."

It let the words trail off, fully aware that its companions understood what it was getting at. Their dear guest may have had incredible recovery properties that would speed up the healing process, but they knew he never did fare well mentally.

Taking in consideration of his traumatic childhood, what he had to experience during his time with his supposed "mother" (the figure resisted the urge to seethe at the mention of the monster), the figure could only hope for the best for their dear guest's mental state.

It felt a clap on the shoulder, and the second figure appeared by its side. "He'll get through this, one way or the other. He always did, regardless of the situation he faced. So let's put a bit more faith in him, okay?"

The first figure nodded in response, gently brushing the hand off its shoulder. Had it been anyone else, it would have felt doubt and immediately believe the person in question would have no chance surviving the obstacles standing in their path.

But this guest was different. This guest had the perseverance, the hope, the determination, to make it through. Even in the bleakest of times, he did not falter, always moving forwards. Perhaps that was why it did not fear of what would arrive in the future, for it knew, somewhere deep inside itself, that their dear guest would surpass whatever was thrown at him.

Its other companion decided to chime in, voice sombre as per usual. "...Departure...ready. ...Leaving...soon?...To...place...residing soul?"

The first guest nodded in confirmation, taking one last look at their dear guest as he continued to rest from the sudden encounter with the girl. It whispered one last farewell before heading back to the others, the soul in question residing in its original form.

Now that it thought about it, as it passed the object to the others, would this even work? It seemed so difficult, just to even confine the soul in one single object, let alone its original. Would they even be able to find a possible-

It shook its head. No, there was no "possible" in this. It refused to let itself be filled with doubt and unease. No matter what happened, they would certainly find a way to bring the two of them together.

Even if it meant…

…

Hopefully, they would not have to unleash **that** in order to achieve what they wanted.

"Well, it appears we are all ready for departure. Shall we?"

Nodding simultaneously, all three figures took a deep breath as a gust of wind blew. Suddenly, they vanished, nothing remaining that would have indicated that something was in the area.

And yet, the echoes of strained laughter could be heard in the background, almost as if they were in conflict with the deities that brought it here. No sooner than it begun did the laughter immediately cease, leaving silence to replace the haunting sound.


	7. Passage - Hopelessness

**Next chapter is coming up soon, I promise. However, I need a bit more time to work on the story structure and character development/interactions.**

 **So, as an apology, I wrote another little passage for all of you to read. Again, just like the last one, it may or may not have some significance to what I have in store for the story.**

 **Again, I apologize, and hope you enjoy what I have written for all for you.**

* * *

 **Passage: Hopelessness**

Giving up.

It's something you can easily do with just one simple thought. A single push, and you'll find yourself falling to your doom. A single mistake, and you'll find yourself digging a hole that's too deep for you to climb out. A single choice, and you'll find yourself responsible for your friends' downfall.

That's all it takes. A simple, "I give up" is all that's needed before every ounce of hope stored inside of you is snuffed out in a blink of an eye.

It could happen to anyone, really. From the poor, helpless beggar on the curb of the streets, to a powerful king who firmly sits on the edge of his throne, any person could fall to their despair. All it takes is one simple thought, and the cloud of hopelessness will come barging into their mind.

So, what happens after? What happens when you do give up?

Well, there's a few things that might happen. If you're lucky, you can just shrug it off, believing this will be the only time you'll ever give up. Your stubbornness and questionable ignorance might bite you in the hand later on, but you won't suffer. At least, not that much.

The unlucky ones...Well, let's just say they change. A lot.

It's amazing what can happen to someone who decides noting is of worth. They might be working incredibly hard on something; pouring everything they got into reaching their goal; when suddenly, as if the switch to their mind was tampered with, they're lifeless, believing everything is irrelevant and that there's no point of doing anything anymore. Their previous will might as well be the switch: once it's turned off, it remains off forever.

And of course, just like how their personality changes, their actions change as well.

Recklessness, arrogance, self-destruction: all of it is shown through the way a person speaks and acts. Having nothing to fight for, to live for, they continue to walk towards their doom, each moment spent on their endless crusade as they bring themselves closer to their end.

They are lucky if they die during their journey: death would be immediate relief to those who suffer the eternal pain they brought upon themselves. But the ones who survive, the ones who live to recount their tragic lives, end up becoming things one would never imagine could exist.

People always say that man is its own worst enemy. Well, drain all the hope out of them, add a little dose of emptiness in their mind, and you have the product of what is presumably the manifestation of all evils.

Oh. Are you asking if I ever gave up? It's...strange that you would ask me that question. I thought you hated my guts for what I did to your loved one…

I'll answer your question regardless. Besides, I have a feeling you'll just pester me for answers if I didn't...

To put it in better terms, I never gave up. Never did, and probably never will.

...I see that confused look on your face. You're wondering why I never gave up, right?

Well, it's quite simple actually.

 **Why should I give up when I had nothing to give up in the beginning?**


	8. Update

I'm sorry.

If there were ever two words that could describe my current situation, I would use those two. Nothing more, nothing less: only those two words.

...You're probably wondering why this story hasn't been updating lately, why I'm apologizing right now, or even why it takes at least a month to upload a **fricking** chapter.

...Well, I better start explaining.

I...have epilepsy. It's a neurological mental condition that mentally affects my brain. What results from my condition are the usual headaches, mood swings, and seizures.

...Let's just say last week hasn't been a good week for me.

I won't go into full details of what happened, but I can fully say I expressed emotions I thought I had locked away for good. Emotions that I viewed as a hindrance in my daily life.

And...I don't know why it happened. And it scares me.

Heh, it's funny, isn't it? I'm in grade 12, about to graduate to whatever university I'm going to, and I'm still **scared** of something...How hilarious.

Sigh...Anyways, the doctors say it's just stress related, but I don't think that's what's really happening in my mind. I don't know how to describe it, but something is affecting me. I just know it.

So...for the time being, I'm going to call a little hiatus on the writing of Regret, Rebirth, and Reclaim. Because if I continue to keep writing in the condition that I'm in right now, I know that whatever will come out of my typing will only be absolute trash.

...I know many of you will be disappointed in hearing this, and I'm truly sorry to disappoint you. I'm even disappointed in myself for not being able to keep on writing, to keep on doing what I love to do most.

But, well, I guess I am human after all. And all humans need to rest some time, right?

...

...I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry...

Please forgive me.


End file.
